This invention relates to handling of substrates and, more particularly, to a load lock apparatus and methods for transferring substrates in semiconductor or flat panel manufacturing or the like.
Substrate handling apparatus such as load lock devices are commonly used for transferring substrates such as wafers or flat panels for carrying out various processes. As used herein, the term "substrate" refers to a wafer, flat panel, or the like. Multi-link mechanisms such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,292,303, 5,569,014, and 5,655,060 are commonly used in moving substrates. Such multi-link mechanisms typically are complex and require a substantial amount of room to operate. They also employ multiple axes of rotation for the various linkage members, and tend to suffer from vibrations or other mechanical instabilities, leading to difficulties in precise displacements or necessitating slow movements to achieve accurate positioning of the wafers.